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GROUND PENETRATING RADAR SURVEY OF A ROMAN SITE IN SOUTHERN DOBRUJA
Abstract
Sacidava archeological site is located in the Dobruja region, Romania, on a hill on the right bank of the Danube - the Musait point, located at about 5 km northeast from Dunareni village. The Roman Sacidava was part of the province of Scythia Minor, at its southern limit, and belonged to the military complex (limes) built along the Danube since the 1st century AD. The fortress has had an uninterrupted evolution from the beginning of the 2nd century AD until the first quarter of the 7th century AD, being one of the three large archaeological complexes located on the plateau of Muzait hill. Multiple geophysical methods, including ground-penetrating radar (GPR), have now been successfully used for archaeological investigations in the Sacidava fortress. The results of the GPR survey have been particularly impressive, with the NOGGIN 250 SmartTow system revealing the pattern of buried walls and streets in extraordinary detail. Data processing was undertaken with EKKO Project by Sensors and Software Inc. and final images were produced with Voxler and Surfer 13, both by Golden Software Inc. Accurate velocity determinations are critical for estimating both depth and dimensions of archaeological features and are therefore the most crucial parameters to be assessed. Two perimeters were surveyed with a 250 MHz antenna, aiming to identify geological and archaeological anomalies in order to assist archaeologists in an excavation program. While GPR results are sometimes ambiguous, but when used in tandem with other field methods such as excavation and additional geophysical techniques, uncertainty can be reduced.
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References5
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